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The New Scientist
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Editorial illustration Book design Information graphics
RECOGNITIONS
Published by New Scientist / John Murray Learning European Design Silver Award Widely featured in editorial design press
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How can we take the reader on a journey through intelligence, memory, creativity, the unconscious and beyond?
Commissioned by New Scientist, we illustrated the entire book The Brain: A User’s Guide — from cover and endpapers to chapter openers, spread templates, and infographics. The aim was to translate neuroscience into visuals that felt playful, surprising, and clear, while staying true to the science.
Challenge
Unlike a traditional science book, The Brain was designed to be approachable and accessible to a broad audience. The challenge was to create illustrations that reflected this fresh take while maintaining scientific accuracy. Working closely with New Scientist editors and authors, we refined every image to balance rigour with imagination. Another challenge was the nature of the material: rather than quantitative data, much of the content was qualitative — ideas, experiments, and theories — which required a more interpretive and illustrative approach.
Solution
We established a bold visual language using a high-contrast palette of primary reds and blues. For the cover, endpapers, and chapter openers, we developed a series of optical illusions — graphics that trick the eye and echo the book’s theme of visual perception. Inside, the illustrations ranged from diagrams and infographics to data-inspired visuals and playful experiments. From ambiguous illusions inspired by artists like Escher and Ocampo, to diagrams of memory and decision-making, each spread was designed to spark curiosity while guiding readers through complex science.
Impact
The book became a popular and widely read guide to understanding the brain. The illustrations played a key role in broadening its appeal, making complex neuroscience accessible and enjoyable to general audiences. By blending scientific insight with optical play, the series showed how visual storytelling can make science both rigorous and fun.
Want to make complex science come alive for your audience?
Let’s turn complexity into visuals that spark curiosity and understanding.
CREDITS
Writer: Alison george Publisher: Georgina Laycock, Kate Craigie
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